Random follow #135 - @TheTimaruvian

Guess what?  I found a BRAND NEW twitter account!  Really!  This account only has 10 tweets to its name!  Pretty cool if you ask me.  Getting on board with a new tweeter early on is always a cool thing to do 'cos then when they get famous you can stake a fame claim of 'I was there at the beginning...'  LOL.

@TheTimaruvian is the twitter account for Timaru's only newspaper.  There aren't that many tweeters that I know of who hail from Timaru so having at least a second account does make quite a difference to the twitter landscape.

I can't tell you too much about @TheTimaruvian as a tweeter (because they do only have 10 tweets) so I will try and uncover a few facts about the town instead.  Note - I said town and not city.

• Fact 1.  Timaru's most famous tweeter is @evilkud
• Timaru's only newspaper is @TheTimaruvian
• Around 30,000 people live there (in the town)
• Timaru is a faming town.  The North Island equivalent is probably Masterton.
• It has 6 high schools and one polytechnic
• And 2 radio stations
• Jack Lovelock came from Timaru
• There is also a song about Timaru (see the bottom of this post)

So there you go.  @TheTimaruvian have a funky website and they aren't afraid to bring you the hard news.  If you need evidence of this I recommend you check out this page - http://timaruvian.co.nz/bookarama-has-locals-frothing-at-the-bit/

So to be honest I am not sure these guys are actually legitimate.  In fact I would go so far as to think they may be a parody account.  But I tell you what - this account is SERIOUSLY funny!  So follow it if you're after a laugh.

Random follow #129 - @misshollando

Meeting lovely people is certainly the highlight of social media and twitter for me.  When you get to make a connection with said lovely people then when you read someone else's tweets they take on a whole new magic of their own.

@misshollando is a lovely lady who lives in a lovely place - Rotorua.  According to her bio she has been lots of places all around the world but for a while has decided to call this lovely city home.  

Often times the way someone conducts themselves and the tweets they share online are a direct representation of who they are as a person.  And when you read Katie's tweets you'll soon discover that she is a little ray of light/  And her tweets are just the thing to bring some sunshine to your timeline almost every day -

"Taking a packed lunch on my shopping expedition to justify buying a really expensive dress #logic"

"Little Miss Sunshine"

Katie is one of the fabulous team who put together @TheDailyPost most days of the week.  In fact there are a number of reporters and persons from the paper who (sort of) engage with people on twitter.  And there are the funny, quirky tweets too - 

"Running out to the car in the dark in your socks.. what are the odds of a hedgehog on the bottom step?! #imeanreally?!"

"Thank you for my warning nice policeman on the motorway and I promise to never speed again. #phew #donttellmum"

Katie is someone who tweets her friends regularly.  She keeps in contact with those that she values and lets them know about the fun stuff she is up to.  I really like that a lot of her tweets are about the times and places when she is interacting with people.  Be it at pub quizzes, sports events or hanging out with the team from the 

@TheDailyPost Katie lets the people who she is with know that they are special to her.

In summary Katie online is a true representation of Katie in real life.  Someone who is thoughtful, happy and a friend of all those people that she takes into her circle of friends.  

And just for the record if there are any single farmers out there who are looking for a lovely lass to sweep off her feet - 

"Watching #countrycalendar and wondering how I could meet me a nice farmer #ragingsaturdaynight"

Then don't be shy - @misshollando is waiting for your call!

Random follow #78 - @southernscoop

The Otago Daily Times is an institution and way of life for people who live in the south of the South Island..  It is a newspaper that has been in existence longer than both I and today's random tweeter have been on the face of this plant.  A lot longer!  So working for the ODT does have some level of prestige that goes with it.

@southernscoop is one of the many who have been employed and yet is also one of the few.  In years gone past before the advent of the internet newspapers were big bustling communities of people committed to getting the news out to the public.  While the purpose of a newspaper hasn't changed the scale of those in ts employ has been downsized and the both the speed of news and its flavor are radically different than what they used to be.  And the internet and modern technology has meant over time that the numbers of people required to work in the press is now less.

The Allied Press Building, Dunedin.

@southernscoop doesn't give much away about his real life.  And that s fine because that is not the purpose of this blog.  What he does tweet though are short, sharp and snappy tidbits that either are often sideline stories to what is being told in the media.  For example - "Last night tgr English cricket team got some gear nicked; golf gear".  As a stand alone news story that one won't make the 6'o'closk news.  But it is still a story worthy of being talked about.

What I like about him is that he isn't afraid to tell you his opinion but he's not a soap box kind of person.  He will quite clearly state in 20 words or less his position.  And it is that snappiness I find really refreshing. 

And being a reporter he has a wide number of interest areas.   Such as sports "It is impossible for highlanders, warriors and black caps to win on same weekend #science".  Politics "Winston peters sounds more like Tom waits each year".  And fashion "To mark Dunedin fashion week I am sporting newspaper ink on my elbows".

In short @southernscoop is a tweeter that doesn't make big waves or cause much of a stir.  And that is mainly because I think the role of being a reporter is to tell the news.  Not make it.  What do you think?